Fun @ Jodye's Beach House

My Co-Worker, Jodye, invited a few of us to come have a Ladies Weekend at her Beach House in Bethany Beach. So Nina-Skye, Miss Emma "affectionately called Ma" and I hit the road for the 2 1/2 hr drive to her wonderful vacation abode. Above are the two new found "Best Friends": Nina-Skye & Jodye. Here is Nina-Skye on Saturday morning, happy as a clam because she is getting ready to go to the Beach with Miss Jodye.

BEACH BABE in the Old Lady Hat...lol!

Nina-Skye had a ball with Jodye! Some of their Fun-Filled Activities included:

- Playing with Jewelry, and Jodye gave Nina-Skye her very own jewlery box FILLED with costume & vintage jewlery

-Walking the dogs

-Tasting and guessing fruity cheerio flavors

-Shopping at DeJa Vu Consignment Shop

-Having plenty of Girl Talk and

-Doing the Tango...just for starters!

Now do you see why they are new "Best Friends?!"

The Girls:
Dare, Jodye, Callie, Denise & Miss Emma

WE DID!!!

Cousins Cookie, Shaunda & Kendall Come To Town

Nina-Skye & I took a leisurely stroll up to Barracks Row on this brisk & beautiful late winter evening to meet Cousins Cookie & Shaunda above, and their Friend Jazz and we all had a nice dinner at Jordan's 8 {www.jordans8.com/}. Above are Cousin Cookie & Cousin Shaunda. Below Nina-Skye cheeses as she takes a picture with her Little Cousin Kendall and Big Cousin Cookie.

Nina-Skye "Rockin" her cute new Tutu...She loved it so much that after playing in it all day...she just had to wear it to Dinner that night. She received quite a few compliments from people as we walked to and from dinner...

I tied my shoelaces today...Yay!

Nina-Skye tied her shoelaces all by herself today after I arrived to pick her up from Ms. Frances Aftercare Class...Great Job!

Happy Easter!

Today we attended 7:30 Resurrection Sunday Church Service and the 9:30 Easter Service. It was at the Easter Service that Nina-Skye recited her poem. This was the first time see spoke in front of the Church. Her assigned poem was this:

"Let's Rejoice! Let's Rejoice, because we are going to win!

Let's Rejoice! Let's Rejoince, because Jesus saves from sin!"

Here is her Wonderful Princess Tiana Easter Basket...the Easter Bunny got this exclusive basket from Ms. Melva!

And for the FIRST time, we dyed Easter Eggs and here's a pretty pink one with her name on it:

The "McNeill's" Come to Town

Today we met up with our Cousin's from NC, The McNeill Family. Nina-Skye & I met them downtown at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Above are Daddy: Mark, Mikaili, Mommy: Raushanah, (Nina-Skye), Mattie and in the stroller, Macyn. Below is Nina-Skye with Dorothy’s ruby slippers from “The Wizard of Oz.”

After our outing at the Museum we all went out to dinner at Hanabi Japanese Restaurant. It was great as our Chef cooked our entire meal in front of us, and it was entertaining for all of us except poor Macyn...When the Chef lit the oil on FIRE it scared her and made her cry...and cry...and cry...and cry! Below are the "Little Munckins" after dinner having a BALL!

Noooooo...not those "Munchkins"...here are "Our Munchkins":

Mikaili, Macyn, Nina-Skye & Mattie!

LOL! They are all "SO SILLY"...

Our Visit to Castillo de San Cristobal

While in Old San Juan we visited Castillo de San Cristobal, the largest fortification ever built by the Spanish in the New World and is on the northeast side of San Juan. This massive Fort covers 27 acres and it was awesome and beautiful at the same time. Here is Lidia posing on the land side of the Fort.

Here is Arnold in one of the "Garitas" (Sentry Boxes) which provided lookout points for the soldiers and this one down low closest to the ocean was known as the ‘Devils Sentry Box’.

San Cristobal's gunners dueled with US Navy warships during a day long bombardment on May 12, 1898. Six months later Puerto Rico became a US territory by terms of the Treaty of Paris which ended the Spanish-American War. In 1949 - San Juan declared this a National Historic Site. And in 1961 - The US Army moved out of the forts of Old San Juan, and they become the jurisdiction of the US National Park Service, to be preserved solely as museums. Nina-Skye & her plush Coqui Frog souvenir...

Our Day in Old San Juan

What a WONDERFUL DAY!

Today Arnold, Nina-Skye, Lidia, James and I caught the "A5 Bus" to Old San Juan to continue doing the Tourist thang and we had a great time again! Even though it was HOT, we leisurely walked, talked & perused Old San Juan and its souvenir shops. San Juan is a major port and tourist resort of the West Indies and is the oldest city under the U.S flag. During the early 16th century, San Juan was the point of departure of Spanish expeditions to charter or settle unknown parts of the New World. Here I am hanging on the street corner of Calle De O'Donnell!

After we all enjoyed a nice cool water ice to cool us down a bit...we admired the beautiful architecture & vibrant colors of this 465-year-old neighborhood originally designed as a military stronghold. Its 7-square-block area has evolved into a very charming residential and commercial district built upon narrow, steep and sometimes heavily congested cobblestone streets. The city includes more than 400 carefully restored 16th- and 17th-century Spanish colonial buildings.

By late afternoon we were all HOT, Tired and Thirsty {just look a Nina-Skye's RED cheeks in the picture below}! LoL! Luckily, we stumbled upon a quaint and beautiful little Italian Kitchen & Wine Bar restaurant named "Sofia's" at 355 San Francisco Street. {www.ristorantesofia.com} I TRULY recommend this place if you are ever in Old San Juan...it was a great change of pace from all of the Puerto Rican cuisine we had been enjoying and the food was delicious! I had the Pistacchie Mele which was a mixed greens salad w/apples, pistachios, gorgonzola cheese in an orange-balsamic vinaigrette dressing...delicious...and their Salmon Sandwich...delicious! The kids had their Pizza...delicious! Lidia & Arnold said their food was delicious...In other words the food was...you guessed it...delicious! LOL!

After our late lunch we ventured back to a very busy square where we came across the "Bird Man!" This guy had 3 Puerto Rican Parrots whom he allowed you to take pictures with and they danced and chirped songs. We were amazed that when James said he wanted to take a picture with the Parrots, Nina-Skye said, "Me too!" And here she is as the Bird Man is situating another Parrott James...she is just a smilin' with this Parrott on her arm as if this is normal behavior...lol! We were shocked that she was so BRAVE! It was a GREAT day!!

Dinner at Mi Casita

On Monday, March 29th we had dinner at "Mi Casita Restaurant" located at la plazoleta de isla verde. There was some "drama" going on outside of the restaurant when we arrived thanks to this cocky New York dude, but we decided to wait and try the resturant anyway. We had a bit of a wait, but the food made it well worth it! Here's James, Nina-Skye, Dare & Lidia above and Lidia & Arnold below. I'd say we all look good to be SOOOOOOOOOO tired... Here is my Shrimp Mofongo dish!

Nina-Skye "cheesing" with her delicious Shrimp Alfredo dish...and yes it was a LOT, but she made sure she ate ALL of the shrimp out of it...lol! Lidia's Pork tips & Onions, Mofongo and soup... And the WINNER of the evening, Arnold's Seafood Paella with Salad and fried plaintains...DELICIOUS!